


Every piece of you brings me home

by orangeji



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adventures, HOLY SHIT . slowburn so slow i set myself into flames writing this, Home, M/M, Traveling, art student renjun, briefly mentioned engineering major jisung, healing(??), hyuck is a florist but its only mentioned, jaemin owns a coffee shop, minor jaemle, minor nohyuck, rediscovering home ;)), they live near the sea, they watch studio ghibli films..yes.., whats the trope for person a coming home and meeting a pretty boy yeah that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:07:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26698744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangeji/pseuds/orangeji
Summary: He stops on his track and Renjun does so. He turns around and stares at Renjun for quite some time, thoughts running in his head with his heart beating loudly in his chest, he feels like it's just right to tell him this." You showed me my home, Renjun. It's starting to feel more like one."
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Park Jisung
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Every piece of you brings me home

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't use a real place for the settings of this fic, the nearest picture description i can give you is it's similar to how the town in ponyo looks like but better (the view jisung is talking about in the beginning hints to what chihiro saw in the beginning of spirited away, Just they look like that [i cant worldbuild to save a life])

The white noise of the train station fills Jisung's ears as he sits on the metal benches waiting for his train to arrive with his baggage in front of him and his sling bag resting on his lap. It was a busy station, despite the current time being midnight the chattering is loudly bouncing off on the walls of the station. 

Only the sound of the lady's voice announcing that his train has arrived and is currently waiting to be boarded in, cuts through all the drowned out conversation he wasn't supposed to mind. Settling down on his seat, he puts his earphones on with his eyes closing on their own he falls asleep not even minding the fact that his body might hurt when he wakes up and this trip back home is over. 

When he finally arrived with his body that is terribly sore, the sun was up and bright. He takes in the contrast freshness of the air compared to the thick and condensed air he almost got used to for months. With the landscape in front of his eyes drastically shifted from tall buildings that are almost indecipherable from their similarities to a view of the coast where the sea lies ahead and small houses that are almost as close as the people that called it their home, he longs to find the same comfort and warmth. 

  
  
  


"Jisung, my baby!" His mom comes first to his view when he arrives at their house, with her arms spread wide open ready to take Jisung in a hug as he walks towards her and instantly a smile blooms on his face as he feels that warmth he knows nothing could ever replace. He sees his father glancing from their door frame leaning his whole weight on it, he gives Jisung a smile which welcomes him. 

"You've grown skinnier and you're already skinny enough!! Are you not eating well there?" He was on his second bowl of rice when his mom scoops him his third bowl of soup, he can see the concern in his mom's eyes and he didn't want to further worry her with his own honesty so instead he supplies a white lie. 

"I've been eating well, Mama. Just that school has been a handful, and I need to walk around a lot to get things done." His mom doesn't buy it, of course she knows him too well but she lets it go as she places a piece of stir-fried pork onto Jisung's rice. 

"You can eat as much as you want here, so you eat up." 

  
  


His room hasn't changed, not that he expected that it would during the duration he wasn't around. A few things are misplaced here and there probably from when his mom was dusting and cleaning the room. He sees the pile of books neatly arranged which were still from his high school, his action figures that are definitely untouched since his mom knew that he would whine a lot if she tries to touch them, the speaker his dad got him for his birthday and his blue bed sheet set which were his favorite was covering his bed which was ready to be slept on. 

The bed creaks at the weight Jisung puts on it after he plopped himself onto it. He stares at his ceiling with the thought of unpacking weakly clinging onto his head as he becomes more conscious of the beat his breathing was picking up, he falls asleep. 

  
  


The sun was nearly down when he woke up with his blanket halfly covering him and halfly on the floor, he rubs his eyes as he uses his other hand to search for his phone which ended up on the floor after being placed beside Jisung when he fell asleep. The bright light assaults his eyes as he squints recognizing a few notifications from his social medias which were mainly from Jeno who was whining about his family and asking him about his hometown. 

He types a few responses that were enough to answer all of his friend's questions as he pulls the blanket that is mostly falling to the floor and rips the blanket away from his body as he closes his curtains to turn on the light in his room finally deciding to unpack before dinner. 

By dinner, Jisung was starting to slowly find familiarity in the dynamics he hasn't felt nor seen for quite a while. His mother was retelling stories of her day while mildly nagging both Jisung and his father in between, his father would clear his throat once in awhile which makes him look up thinking he has something to say yet he only picks up another piece of the dishes that they were eating and Jisung just enjoys what food really was after practically living off of instant foods and takeouts. 

It felt unfamiliar and odd for some time but he has eased through it. He just finds it weird how he feels so out from the daily routine and dynamics he was so used to for his whole life feel so different and foreign to him.

But he wasn't in any rush to find back that grasp on it, he had lots of time to get more used to this. 

He hears his mom nagging some more to his dad and Jisung just laughs when his dad tsked clearly frustrated with his utensils becoming heavier and heavier in his grasp that makes his handling of them a bit louder than before, he knows it will feel like home soon. 

  
  


If there was one thing Jisung has missed and remembered about this place, it was the sea.

He remembers when his grandparents along with a few of his cousins brought them here it was the first time Jisung fell in love with the sea. It was roaring loudly but all Jisung could feel was the wind blowing against his body and his feet on the sand with the waves violently letting itself known.

With the waves getting bigger and bigger he hears his grandma yell, "Be careful!" as some of his younger cousins get closer to the body of water. 

  
  
  


The view from his window really wasn't the best, for most parts it was blocked by the neighboring house which is why Jisung decides to just take himself to the sea to finally see it. 

His mother was probably by the market or chatting her time away with her friends, while his dad was at the living room watching TV. He says a simple greeting to his dad giving him a heads up that Jisung was going to the sea today to which his dad just nods and off he goes after putting on his shoes. 

He takes in the neighborhood as he makes his way to the sea, it hasn't changed much since the last time he bid goodbye to it. The children by the playground were ones he couldn't recognize now, probably the new generation of kids who will spend their childhood in the same playground almost spent most of his, the colors of some of the houses were different as well but other than this it still felt like the one from his memory. 

Walking from his house to the sea didn't feel this long as he remembered, he was huffing once he reached the sea choosing to catch his breath before appreciating the fact that he was finally at the place he longed for. 

He sniffs at the cold wind that blew directly to him, snuggling more into his puffy jacket as he takes a look at the view in front of him. 

"Wow." 

Was all he could say as he watched the blue skies compliment the blue water. The waves weren't harsh today rather it settles in a gentle rhythm which feels calming. He looks at his feet and smiles at the way the sand was burying his shoes and thinks about taking them off so he could directly feel it.

Taking out his phone, he snaps a few pictures of the view as he slowly walks closer to the water, even taking a video of the waves to send to Jeno. 

"Hey!" He hears someone yell and without him even realizing it his shoes felt cold and he was stepping on the wet sand that was getting brushed by the waves. Oh. 

"Didn't think you noticed how close you were so I yelled at you, I'm sorry." He turns to where he thinks he was hearing the voice from with the waves getting a little louder in his ear and sees the stranger who was also near the sea but not as near as Jisung. 

He takes a step back to the part where the waves couldn't touch the sand and takes a look at the stranger once more who was smiling at him. 

"Oh, thank you for that." The stranger doesn't reply, instead he stares back at the sea like Jisung. 

"The sea is beautiful isn't it?" Jisung hums, "It is." He answers. 

He looks once more at the stranger and observes more of him, he has a kind smile resting on his face, his face was nearly buried to the scarf that was wrapped around his neck and his jacket was clearly bigger than the size he was. He was cute, with his cotton candy pink colored hair, Jisung finds the stranger interesting. 

"Is this your first time seeing it, you were so immersed earlier."

"No, I've seen it back when I was younger with the waves going rampant." 

"I've always liked the sea better when it was howling but the calm is also nice."

Silence settled between them with only the waves singing in the background, he tapped a quick message to Jeno with an attachment of the photos and a video that he took of the sea. 

" Are you new here? I haven't seen you around, only today." Curiosity was evident in the stranger's voice and Jisung is polite enough to satisfy it. 

"Visiting, I grew up here but left as soon as I came so I might not be that memorable to this town."

"Oh so you grew up here, it's fine I take pride in knowing everyone around despite only living here for 2 years. Except maybe I wasn't around during the time you were here so I couldn't remember you."

"I would if I was around though." He turns to his side to look at the boy who was talking and immediately catches the way his smile widened when they ended up catching each other's eyes. 

"Would it be strange if I told you I want to be your friend?" Jisung raises his eyebrow in amusement with the question.

"I mean you got me talking to a stranger which was definitely not a normal thing to me so I wouldn't really mind if we became friends." Jisung says as an answer and smiles. 

"I'm Renjun, Huang Renjun. Been in this place for about 2 years going to 3 and you are?" 

He watches him take out his hand from his pocket struggling from the way his jacket was covering his whole hand, he offers his small peeking hand through the jacket to Jisung. 

Which he takes gladly, "Jisung, Park Jisung, visiting back my hometown."

The silence was comforting to them afterwards, Renjun didn't talk much after they introduced themselves but the sea was loud enough to talk for them. They end up sitting on the sand for a while before Renjun gets up to which Jisung sees and reaches a hand out which Renjun takes and lifts him up, groaning as he uses his force Jisung only laughs. 

He sees the other pushing the jacket away from his wrist to reveal a watch as he switches his gaze to Jisung as they welcomed another big blow from the wind 

"I need to get going, it was nice to meet you, Jisung." He doesn't say anything. 

Renjun's gaze looks back at the sea which Jisung follows and once they meet eyes again, Renjun says something. 

"I'll be here around 4 pm tomorrow, if you don't mind we can hangout again? You can just come here with no pressure, I won't take it too hard if you don't come. Okay, I really need to get going, bye!" He sees him sprint away, waving at Jisung who returns it before Renjun's figure was out of his sight and he decides it was time to go home. 

  
  


The rest of the day was quieter than the waves from earlier, Jisung ate lunch and was even given peeled apples by his mom afterwards. It passed by very insignificantly until the night time came and he pondered about the day he had. 

He was never really the one who would hold up a conversation well with strangers but with Renjun it came as easy as breathing. He doesn't wonder about it for a long time and before he knew it he was closing his eyes with the colors of blues, whites and pink invading his dream. 

  
  


The sky at 4 in the afternoon was different in hues. It was nearing the evening so the sky wasn't just purely blue instead colors were slowly mixing into it in shades that he could recognize as pink, orange, and red.

With all the colors that he chose to recognize today, pink stood out the most as he saw Renjun running towards him with the waves dancing a bit wilder today. 

"You came." The smile was evident in his tone and Jisung was glad he did. 

"I did." 

"Would you like to hangout in a cafe instead of the sea? It's quite chilly today." He can see that Renjun was slightly trembling for being underdressed than he was yesterday so Jisung nods. 

"Don't worry the view of the sea from that cafe is still great!" 

And with that he finds himself following Renjun to this cafe where his friends were working at. He says it's the busiest cafe around town because of the view you get and it is especially the busiest during summers where the tourists who are more keen into looking at Korea find their town. 

The cafe was pretty much built with windows instead of walls which gave view of its interior from the outside and a view of the town from the inside. Renjun tells him the sea looks the best around the transitioning time of afternoon to evening where the sky was warming up to the night so they should definitely sit at the back part of the cafe where the sea was most visible. 

"We could have watched it better from where we were though." Renjun whines as he pushes the door to the cafe which immediately let's Jisung hear the chattering of the people inside. 

"The view from here is the best, I promise you. I can take you to watch the sky from the sea itself next time but for now, just from here." Jisung enters the cafe with Renjun following behind him, he walks towards the counter to where the barista immediately turns his back at him and says what Jisung could pick up as " I'm not giving you another discount, Jun." As he walks towards the counter as well. 

" But, I'm with a friend! The one I told you that I met when you and Lele kicked me out. "

" We told you to look at the sea and you managed to find yourself a friend that wasn't us, that's impressive. But, I'm not giving you another discount, I already gave you a free coffee during the morning you little brat."

The barista puts down the cup he was wiping dry down with a thud and finally looks at what was in front of the counter. 

Jisung scans the menu to find a drink to order when he hears Renjun whisper in a hushed tone to his friend. 

"You must be Jisung." He stops reading at hot chocolate and looks at the barista who was smiling at him. 

"Yes, I am." 

"Hi, I'm Na Jaemin, nice to meet you."He bows towards Jaemin who was still smiling at him and Jisung returns to scanning the menu. 

"Do you want to try our best seller or our hidden menu? I mean you're the first friend Renjun has made that wasn't us in quite a while so consider it as my treat, I personally prefer our hidden menu." Jaemin winks at him with Renjun creating a sneaky cross sign with his hands, slowly shaking his head at Jaemin's suggestion. 

He mouths something to Jisung which Jisung read as, 'Not that one, too sweet.' so Jisung just settles to tell him he would like the best seller instead. 

Renjun says his order and takes out his wallet to pay and as he pulls out his bill Jaemin snatches the bill from his hand and sticks his tongue out at him. 

Renjun just rolls his eyes, looking at Jisung before holding onto his wrist and telling Jaemin to bring their drinks to their table to which Jaemin just pulls an ok sign to. 

They sat at the backside of the cafe where the view of the sea was wonderfully captured through the window. The sky was slowly getting warmer in colors and Jisung just stared in awe. 

"Sunsets are really pretty." He turns his head to Renjun who was looking at the sky setting down, he sees the faint light reflect on his eyes. He looks back at the sunset choosing to admire the beauty more instead of saying anything. 

"How old are you, Jisung?" He hears the question as he sips on the mysterious drink he got as their best seller, thankfully it was up to Jisung's taste. 

"Nineteen." A soft 'Oh' comes from Renjun as he sets his warm drink down. 

"You must be a college freshman then. I'm 21, older than you by 2 years." 

"Turning into a sophomore once I return back. You're older than me, I should be calling you hyung."

"I'm fine with you not calling me hyung either way, I'm not Korean so the culture isn't heavily engraved into me."

Jisung casts a curious gaze at Renjun with the revelation to which the other immediately knew which question it wanted to ask. 

"I'm Chinese." Jisung nods in realization and Renjun just smiles as he drinks some more of his coffee.

"Your Korean is like really good if you didn't tell me I wouldn't be able to tell that you're a foreigner." Renjun nods and laughs at it, he probably heard this kind of sentence a lot of times already. 

"What major do you take?" 

"I take engineering."

Renjun gasps, "You willingly took a major filled with Math? I could never." Jisung laughs and shrugs as if it wasn't a big deal. 

"What about you, what's your major?" 

He sees the way Renjun pauses midway as he lifts his drink and notices the strained smile the other offers him as he drinks his coffee, gulping more of its content. 

"Arts, I study arts but,

He hears a sigh from him and sees how he gazes out the window along with his pause. His eyes seemed to be looking farther than where the sea leads to and Jisung settles to not ask about it so he waits. 

I dropped out."

For a few seconds he feels himself and the world still to sympathize with Renjun's sorrow, he gets that telltale feeling that he shouldn't have asked his new friend about this. 

" Jisung? Hey, I'm fine it's been 2 years since I did, college just wasn't for me. Besides, I find more comfort in being free than I did when I was in school."

He doesn't fail to catch the bittersweet look Renjun has in his eyes but he chooses to just drink some more of his mildly sweetened cold drink before casting another look at the sea. 

" I get it though, it's draining even if you love or don't like what you are doing, it's demanding that you won't even notice it."

"Jisung, do you feel like that?" 

He shrugs, "Is it too early into college to be feeling like this? Sometimes, I just wanna abandon my schooling and run somewhere to have fun."

"Well, I dropped out first term of my sophomore year so I don't judge you."

"... I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh."

"Hey, I swear it's fine, I'm at the stage where I can joke about it now so don't worry about laughing cause I find joy in ironic humor."

And with that they fall into a fit of laughter started by Renjun with Jisung joining him, the conversation picks up much better from there and Jisung gets to know more about Renjun. 

Like how he only drinks the same thing from the cafe which was a hot vanilla latte for the colder seasons and a grapefruit ade for the hotter seasons, how Jaemin was the first friend he made in this town because they saw each other in campus and in the summer again here which Jaemin takes as a sign to befriend him, and how he settled in this place because the sea was too pretty. 

"Was your hometown as pretty as this?" Jisung asks him when his drink was finally empty as he leans back into his chair noticing how the sky behind Renjun has gone dark. 

The lights on the cafe were on, brighter than it was when they first came and he saw that longing gaze of Renjun once more. 

"Jilin was pretty but it didn't have this comforting sea." If Jisung listened a bit harder he would hear the waves crashing behind him.

  
  
  


His initial plans of spending his vacation on his bed were wiped away when he met Renjun. 

His phone would ring at 9 am in the morning as he groans and reaches for it only to have it display Renjun's name so he reluctantly answers it. 

"It's 9 am," He manages to choke up as he groans into his pillows. 

"Good morning to you too, sleepyhead! Get up, let's go on an afternoon picnic with Jaemin and Chenle." Renjun says, too cheery for Jisung he concludes.

Who even has this much energy in their tone in the morning? Renjun does apparently. 

Before even Jisung knows it, he was dragging his body out of bed while listening to Renjun tell a simple story he had in the morning while taking a walk in their neighborhood. 

"If you saw the dog, Oh my god it was really huge and fluffy, I didn't know someone owned a cute dog like that in here?" He laughs at the way he can imagine Renjun's face as he said that. He picks up his toothbrush once he was in the bathroom and only ends the call when he says he was gonna take a quick shower. 

He opted for a black hoodie and skinny jeans which he then layers with a white wool jacket which he deems was enough to keep him warm from the afternoon breeze. 

"Jisung! Are you heading out again?" His mother yells from the kitchen before he was even past their living room. He slows down and goes to the kitchen where he sees his mom chopping up the ingredients for their lunch most likely. 

"What are you cooking?" He tries to look at whatever vegetable his mom was cutting up. 

"Your favorite, why are you dressed up so early in the morning? You have plans again?" He nods as he scans his eyes for anything that he could eat. 

"I thought you would be holed up in your room for your whole vacation, If I only knew you were going to be out of the house most of the time." His mother laughs. 

"Introduce your friends to me, to us, some time, okay?" He rests his head on his mom's shoulder and nods aggressively. 

"I'm going on a picnic so I might not be back until dinner time." 

"Hm, oh! There's a newly grape juice I made in the fridge, you can take that your little picnic now go, won't you be late by now?" His mom shrugs his head off of her shoulder and shoo Jisung away who pouts and mumbles as he picks up what he assumed to be the grape juice his mother was talking about.

"This one?" His mother just nods. 

"I'm heading out!" He yells on his way out and makes his way towards the park Renjun told him about. 

  
  


The park was easy to spot once Jisung tried navigating it, Renjun bet that he would get lost while trying to find it so he sent a ":P im here" once he was sure that this was the park they were pertaining to meet.

It was a cloudy day, the wind was brushing onto him as he picks up the laughter he knows that were from Chenle and surely he sees the blonde resting his head upon Jaemin's lap who was just glancing at the view in front of him, he smiles and points his finger at Jisung once he spots him. 

"Hey! Sungie is here!" Renjun turns around to where Jaemin was pointing to and locks eyes with Jisung who was making his way to them. 

"I got us grape juice, my mom made it." Chenle gets up from his resting position and examines the said juice Jisung brought as he sat next to Renjun who just gives him a small smile. 

"Do you want some sandwich or kimbap? Chenle almost finished it all but there's enough for you."Jaemin offers as he pops a grape into his mouth. 

Jisung just nods and picks up a sandwich, munching on it as Chenle and Renjun continue whatever they were bickering about as Chenle opened the juice Jisung brought and poured himself a glass. 

" Oh! This is tasty!" Chenle exclaims, as the rest got curious and poured the juice for themselves, humming an agreement with Chenle. 

They fall into all sorts of conversation and even played games until Chenle was starting to ramble too much nonsense that it concerns Jaemin, even Renjun who was holding up an argument about aliens has stopped speaking and was slowly swaying towards Jisung. 

He felt his cheeks and body burn as if he was on fire and started to take off his jacket when Renjun spoke, "Why are you taking off your jacket? It's cold, you might catch a cold."

"I feel hot." But it's literally nearly winter what was he saying? 

"Hot?" Suddenly Renjun is close to him, that he feels him breathing on his lips. It was warm and Jisung's brain was going into haywire. He stands up abruptly which made Renjun lose his balance after losing Jisung who was supporting his weight and once he stood up he stumbled which made him sit on the grass as he hears Jaemin gasp and Chenle laugh. 

"Jisung, you said this was grape juice right? I think your mom didn't put enough sugar that it had turned into booze." And that was enough to explain what the hell was happening to all of them. 

Jaemin, who drank only one glass of the juice sighs as he tries to strap his boyfriend in the shotgun seat who wouldn't stop giggling and squishing his cheeks. Jisung watches them with droopy eyes as he feels Renjun's head land on his shoulder mumbling words that he couldn't understand whether it was Korean or Chinese but he was asleep. 

"Oh my god, you're so pretty please be my boyfriend." Chenle mumbles. 

"Lele, I already am." Jaemin said, clearly tired from trying to entertain his drunk boyfriend. 

"Wait really?? Can you kiss me then?" Jaemin plants a straight kiss on Chenle's lips and Jisung grimaces. 

"A pretty boy kissed me." And the most drunk out of all of them passes out, finally. 

He hears the seatbelt click as Jaemin closes the door and walks around the car to sit in the driver's seat resting his head on the steering wheel.

"I can't believe everyone is drunk at 12 in the afternoon, I feel like I need a beer myself." 

Jisung mumbles a small sorry and Jaemin just smiles at him before he feels the car moving which was leading them to Jaemin's apartment. 

Moving everyone up to his floor wasn't as hard as it was when they were still in the park since Chenle had fallen asleep and Jaemin carried him bridal style all the way up without waiting for Jisung and Renjun. 

"Sungie, can you handle Renjun? I need to carry Chenle all the way up." Jisung just nods clearly more sober than he was before. 

"I leave at the second floor, flat 13, take care of yourselves it's a short trip but you both are drunk." Jaemin says as he throws the car keys to Jisung and exits the driver's seat to retrieve Chenle. 

Once the car door shuts he was evaded by extreme silence that it was deafening if it wasn't for the soft snoring he can hear right next to him. 

He turns his head as he feels the slight tickle of the pink hair as he looks at the sleeping figure slowly shaking him away, "Renjun, Jun, were at Jaemin's apartment time to wake up." He hears a whine and a mumble of "Five more minutes." Until he feels Renjun relax back into his sleep. 

The mirror in the front of the car catches the perfect image of the two as Jisung stares at it and tries to find his phone to snap a picture of it. 

"Okay, five more minutes then."

  
  


"Thought you two passed out in the car." Jaemin says as he sips the beer he was holding. 

Renjun walks pass him as he says, "I'm gonna take a nap." As Jisung places Jaemin's keys by the table, sitting in front of Jaemin as he drops his head on the table. 

"My head hurts." A glass was slid to him along with a medicine which he noticed was for headaches. 

  
  


He gladly takes it and drinks the medicine down as Jaemin tells him to go take a nap and that Renjun probably took the room on the left. 

He casts a curious gaze at Jaemin confused as to why he specifically told him where Renjun was when he could just take the couch when the two rooms are occupied. 

"I'm taking the couch." He says and stands up from the dining table making his way to the grey couch, he doesn't see Jaemin shrug. 

"Whatever suits you, but your head might hurt more if you sleep in that cramped space." Jisungs waves a hand at him as he curls on the couch. 

The first thing he heard as he woke up was the sound of a pot boiling which made him doubt his memories of whether he ended up in Jaemin's house or in his own house. He opened his eyes to see how the sky outside was slowly mixing into hues as he looked behind him where Jaemin was cooking something. 

He feels his head ring as he places his hand on his neck which hurts from using the arm rest as his pillow. Slowly he wakes up as he feels his throat ask for water which forces him to stand up. 

"Oh, you're awake." Jaemin says as he puts the lid back on the pot after stirring its content. 

Jisung takes a glass and pours water onto it as he takes a look at Jaemin who was now wearing a pink apron. 

"I'm cooking us some hangover soup, Chenle got up an hour ago but fell back to sleep afterwards while Renjun is still deeply into his sleep." Jisung just nods. 

"Rest up first, watch TV or something? This wouldn't be ready until an hour or so."

While waiting, he has turned on the TV with Jaemin occasionally sitting beside him when he waits for the soup to boil watching the variety show that was playing. He opens Jeno's message while watching and reads what the other has sent him when he was asleep. 

**Jeno**

hey 

hey hey hey

jisunggg

PARK JISUNGG

im coming to your town :))

i swear to god if you dont reply im never gonna teach you all the things you miss in dance class

>:(

im coming to your hometown why wont you answer me r you gonna ignore me :((

i see how it is :'(

**Jisung**

sorry was napping for the whole day

we got drunk :P

ARE YOU SERIOUSLY COMING?? 

WHEN? 

**Jeno**

after hours u finally replied

u got drunk in the afternoon?? wtf

next week, my parent told me to go somewhere i want and bc i have no one to bother except you might as well crash into your town

  
  


**Jisung**

its a long story, ill tell u when we meet

where r u gonna stay though

**Jeno**

brat, i thought you will let me stay 

might airbnb 

i hope its owned by a cute boy ^__^

  
  


**Jisung**

i hope its an old couple ;) 

  
  
  


"Jisung can you wake up Renjun? I'll have to wake up Chenle. Jaemin says as he unties the apron from him. 

They make their way to the bedroom, separating when they arrive in front of the doors of those who were asleep. 

The room was dark with no lights on so he leaves the door open just enough so he can see where Renjun was. He gently shakes the boy awake who stirs and adjusts his position. 

"Renjun, it's dinner time, wake up?" He hears him mumble, well there's progress. 

He shakes him a bit more and the mumbling Renjun was saying becomes clearer to him. 

"What time is it?" Renjun asks sleepily slowly blinking his eyes as Jisung stared at the half of his face illuminated by the light from the living room, he can hear Chenle whine from here. 

"It's around 6 pm." 

"I've been asleep for that long? Aw, my head." They stood up from the bed to exit the room as they made their way to the dining table where Jaemin and Chenle were already seated with Chenle resting his head on Jaemin's shoulder as he tried to drink from the glass he was holding.

Jaemin hands the same medicine Jisung took earlier to Renjun which he takes with a small thank you. 

Dinner went quietly as the soup woke them up from their slight hangover and drowsiness.

When dinner was done, Jaemin and Renjun lost the game of rock, paper, scissors which was the reason why they were groaning as they have to wash the dishes as Chenle suggests that they watch a movie before parting for the day. 

Movie time went by quickly and soon, Renjun and Jisung bid the couple goodbye as Chenle announced that he was staying over for the night. 

"Be careful on your ways!" And with that they were exiting the apartment. 

The night was cool as they walked away from Jaemin's place. 

"Look at how full the moon is." Jisung looks up and stops with Renjun. 

"Oh, wow." 

Renjun hums as he walks ahead of Jisung who was just enjoying the neighborhood near Jaemin's place since this was the first he has been here. 

"You said you grew up here right? But why does it feel like I've seen more of this town that you did?"

Jisung laughs, "You're probably right." 

"I think the place I only appreciated around here is the sea." Renjun stops on his tracks and turns around with a serious expression. 

"This is a serious case, Jisung." He says, did he say something wrong? 

"How can you not know more about this town, you grew up here! It's so pretty, so many gems in the tiny corners if you look hard enough." 

"It's a small town though."

"Yet, you've only been by the sea."

"In my defense, I was here until I was 13 and moved away." 

"Not an excuse as to why you haven't explored your own hometown." 

"Why do you sound more like a local than I am?" 

"Probably because I know this place like the back of my hand. " He sees the way Renjun's eyes twinkle under the streetlight that he stopped under. 

Jisung smiles to it, "This won't do, I should show you around more than just stopping by the sea and the cafe everyday." Renjun says as he places his finger under his chin, thinking. 

The moon was bright in the sky and Renjun was excitedly telling Jisung of the places they can go to as the way home gets closer. He bids goodbye to Renjun when he says that his place was just around and Jisung continues to walk until he is home. 

  
  
  
  


Renjun's tour around town starts the next day when Jisung's phone rings as he is startled awake. He answers the call to Renjun yelling into his ears to get his ass up and meet him by the cafe in 20 minutes or else, he will have a penalty.

Rushing through his own routine, he scans the living room where he doesn't see his parents and opts to just shoot them a message in the afternoon. 

"You're late." Renjun crosses his arms in front of his chest, eyeing a huffing Jisung who entered the coffee shop with Jaemin waving at him and Chenle shooting him a "what's up."

"It's a minute, let it go." Jisung says through as he catches his breath. 

"Still late." 

"Anyway, now that you're here, Jaemin and Chenle we're going now!" And Renjun drags him by the arm as they exit the cafe Jisung has just stepped into 2 minutes ago. 

"Get me a pizza bread, Ge!" He hears Chenle yells before the door closes and they start walking towards the place Renjun was planning to take him too. 

"I have a question. Wait, I meant two questions." The sun was hiding behind the clouds and it was breezy as Jisung tucks his hands into his pocket. 

"Shoot." 

"Do you like flowers?" 

"I don't despise them so sure, I like them." 

"Well, are you allergic to pollen or anything?" 

"No." 

"Okay, great my first course is safe then." He trails closely behind Renjun as they walk around to a part of the town that was unfamiliar to him once more. He observes Renjun who was carrying a messenger bag and Jisung wonders what was inside it. 

  
  
  


"We're here." Renjun turns around to give him a smile and proceeds to enter the place that he has brought Jisung to. 

"What's this place?" He says, still looking only at Renjun as he enters. 

"Look for yourself." So he does. 

And, oh wow, it's very pretty. 

Renjun brought him to a botanic garden, his jaws dropped slightly at the view that he saw. "This is the first time I've been to a botanic garden."

"Really? I'm glad to be your first companion to this place then. Here I'll show you where the flowers are." 

Jisung follows Renjun to the deeper parts of the garden while looking at every green that fills his eyes. 

"Look." And Jisung watches as the top part of the garden changes from a view filled with green to a glass roof that gives view to the blue sky. He looks down and sees the various colors the flowers gave the place. He spots red from the roses, yellow from the marigolds and sunflowers, white from the dandelions and blue from the hydrangeas. 

"You know so many of the flowers here, you sure you don't love them?" He sees the amusement covering Renjun's expression while he looks at some more of the flowers he can't recognize. 

"Like I said I don't despise them, my mom has a small garden in our backyard and I used to read the labels of the seeds while she planted them." 

"That's cute." Renjun remarks before sitting by the bench underneath a big tree. 

Jisung walks around the flowers, taking his phone out to capture some of the flowers that fascinates him, maybe even taking a few selfies with the flowers. 

"Can I touch them right?" 

"Pretty sure you can, just don't pick them." 

So Jisung brushes his finger gently on the petal of a white flower called daisy. 

"It's so pretty." He says with a smile on his face before his vision switches to looking at Renjun who has a sketchbook in his hand. He stands up after crouching for a bit and walks nearer to Renjun who was immersed with what he was doing. He noticed that the messenger bag he had was opened, so a sketchbook was inside. 

"Can I see what you're drawing?" Jisung asks before peeking at what Renjun was doing. 

"Oh, yeah sure why not, here." Renjun hands him the sketch and Jisung's eyes widen. 

Renjun was good, no he was amazing. The sketch was of the botanic garden with Jisung scrunching his nose as he walked around the flowers, he would be lying if he didn't feel his heart skip a bit at how Renjun managed to capture such a trivial thing. 

"It's just a sketch, not a very good one─, 

" No, I think it's perfect." Jisung cuts him before he can say anything more and Renjun just stares at him with his eyes widening at the words Jisung uttered. 

" It's a work in progress but it's amazing already, Jun, you draw so well. I knew you were an art major but seeing you draw now is just, it's different." 

"... Is it a good kind of different or bad?" 

"Definitely good."

He looked at Renjun unaware of how his eyes were sparkling and the smile that was tugging on his lips as Renjun smiled at him. It was a bright smile but it shone differently from the smiles that he saw on him, Jisung doesn't ponder much on how different it really is as he clears his throat and hands the sketchbook back to Renjun. 

"I'm sorry, I got carried away." He rubs his hands on his neck as he hears a laughter emit from the person with him. 

"Don't worry, I actually like it."

"Jisung?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you." About what? 

"Why?" 

"Just, I felt like thanking you for this moment." The sun ray hits Renjun's face in a way that perfectly captures his features. 

"Thank you too, for bringing me here." His heart feels warmer and fuzzier amidst the cold wind that greets them out of the small botanic garden. 

  
  
  


"Quit whining and walk faster, you got long legs for a reason, Jisung-ah." They have been walking for the past 20 minutes or so and Jisung's physical strength is being tested quite a lot for this day. 

"I hated P.E the most in school." Renjun looks at him before he continues walking. 

"Figured that you hated at least one subject in school and surprisingly, it was P.E while you liked math. You're actually insane." Jisung just laughs at it. 

"Come on, it's just 10 more steps and you're going to taste the best noodles of your life."

Jisung hopes that Renjun was right as he walks faster. 

Turns out, Renjun was right and the noodles they had for lunch that day was heavenly. He feels the fatigue fade away from his body as the warm soup warms his insides up. The noodles were chewy and the broth was just everything Jisung never knew he craved before this. 

"I told you, you'll like it." He lifts his eyes up to see the way Renjun was grinning at him. 

"You're right, this is the best noodles I've had in my life."

  
  
  


Before the day ends, they stopped by the cafe to chill for a bit before heading home. They see the way Jaemin and Chenle were flirting by the counter and gags at the same time upon seeing them. 

" What's wrong with you two? Are you both sick?"Jaemin asks as Chenle holds his hands. 

" Sick, sick of you two openly flirting." Jisung says. 

Jaemins dramatically gasped looking offended by what Jisung said." You've only been around Jun for a few weeks and you're already acting like him, that's not good, come here." Jaemin goes out of the counter and motions for Jisung to come closer.

He was puckering his lips as he made his way to Jisung, Oh no, "Jaemin hyung, no." Jaemin shakes his head as Chenle watches with a shit-eating grin and Renjun just walks away to join Chenle behind the counter. 

Jaemin ended up chasing Jisung trying to give him a kiss. 

  
  


Jeno arrived in town a week later and Jisung felt like he knew his town more by the time his friend arrived.

He was with Renjun waiting by the train station, he spots Jeno coming out of the doors with his bag but doesn't expect the headlock that comes with his arrival.

"Brat, I thought you wouldn't pick me up. I was so ready to book a ride." 

"Aw, aw, aw, Jeno hyung let me go it hurts." He taps Jeno's arm that was wrapped around his head until the older let go and Jisung fixes his hair. 

"Uh, hello?" Jeno jumps in surprise when Renjun speaks behind him. 

"Say hello, Renjun, Jeno hyung, he's my friend." Jeno stares at Renjun before bowing at him. 

He feels the older stand closer to him and nudges him, "You never told me, you had a pretty friend?" Jisung rolls his eyes. 

"Was it necessary?" That.. came out more bitterly than he intended it to sound. 

"He's your age, please be nice." He receives a head slap from Jeno who he glares at, "Brat, why aren't you calling him, Hyung then?" 

"He gave me permission to not call him hyung."

They glared at each other some more before smiling at Renjun who was clearly confused by their exchange. 

  
  


Jisung doesn't understand the ugly bubbling feeling that was building up inside him when he sees the way Renjun and Jeno were talking. 

Was Jeno always this smiley when he talked to somebody? He can practically hear Jeno's words ringing in his ears everytime he looks at them.

_ "You never told me, you had a pretty friend?" _

  
  


By the time they reached the cafe, Jeno and Renjun were still talking with Jisung still silently grumbling without himself even noticing it. Renjun introduces Jeno to Jaemin and Chenle who immediately welcomes him to the town and tells him to stop by the cafe often. 

They walked away towards the back side of the cafe leaving Jisung by the counter where Chenle takes a notice of his mood. 

"What got you all sour today? You normally don't grumble." He joins Chenle behind the counter and slides down until he is sitting on the floor. 

"I don't even know." That's true, he doesn't even know what made him feel like this. There's an ugly feeling in his chest that keeps on growing whenever his sight lands on his two friends and he hates it. 

Thankfully, Chenle doesn't pry too much and lets him mop behind the counter for some time and even hands him an ice cream that he sneaked from Jaemin's behind. 

"Do you wanna head to the sea with me?" Jisung nods. 

"What about Renjun-ge and Jeno hyung?" 

He stares at them and peels his eyes from them when he sees them laugh. "Won't hurt to leave them for a bit." Chenle doesn't say a thing and just shrugs. 

"Come on, let's sneak out before Nana comes back." He sees the mischievous grin that settles on Chenle's face. 

The ice cream on his hand had long bid him goodbye as it dropped to the sand when Chenle shoves him and says, "tag, you're it."

He didn't expect to be playing tag with Chenle by the sea but here he was, running with the wind as he hears Chenle laughter blend with the waves. 

"Run faster!" 

"Chenle, what the fuck!" He feels a splash of water on his face. 

"That's so cold!" So he takes a handful of water and splashes it to Chenle as well.

When they were done and exhausted they sat by the sand far from the sea, catching their breath. "Are you feeling a little better now?" 

"What? Physically, no but I do feel better now." He catches him as he smiles.

"That's great then. So, Jisung, tell me a little more about yourself, you're always glued to Renjun-ge, a little change won't hurt." As he sees the grin his friend gave him he was suddenly reminded of the cat from Alice in Wonderland and starts to tell a little more about him. 

They came back to the cafe near the evening with the sleeves of their jackets wet, as they trembled from the cold water they splashed to each other. 

"You two, are actually children." Jaemin just says as he shakes his head and Chenle pouts at him. Jaemin was trying to get Chenle away from him because his sleeves were wet and cold When he heard Renjun talk behind him, "Where have you been? We were looking for you."

"I messaged you two that I would be with Chenle, looks like the both of you didn't see it." Jeno pulls out his phone and lets out a little "Oh." while Renjun just stares at his. 

"It's time to meet my airbnb person, so I was gonna bid you goodbye." 

"Do you want us to drop you off or?" Renjun offers. 

Jisung can feel a scoff on his throat but he swallows it. 

"No, they said they were near the cafe, so I can just stay here and wait for them." 

The person they were talking about doesn't take long to arrive because a minute after Jeno said that, someone arrived in the cafe looking around until he stopped his gaze on Jeno. 

" Oh? It's Donghyuck." A boy around their ages smiles as he walks nearer to the counter. 

"Hello, Nana and company. You must be Jeno? I didn't know you were Nana's friend." They were waiting for Jeno to respond but he was taking too long that even Donghyuck was concerned about it. 

"Jeno Lee? Please tell me if you aren't him so I can stop embarrassing myself." And Jisung sees it, the look of awestruck in Jeno's face. 

Jisung elbows Jeno who groans and glares at Jisung before rubbing a hand on his neck and smiling sheepishly. 

"No, you're right, I'm Jeno Lee." 

"Well then, let's take you home?" 

  
  


**Jeno**

Oh my god

ji i really did get a pretty boy!!! 

hes so warm and sunny

what the fuck was sun always a person

for some reason i felt that love at first sight quote when i saw him

/sighs dreamily/

  
  


**Jisung**

disgusting

**Jeno**

i hope a ghost chases you in your dreams tonight <3

  
  
  
  


Maybe Jisung didn't sleep that night in fear that Jeno did indeed curse his dream. 

  
  


**Renjun**

hey :D

are you up yet? 

i wanna take you somewhere

meet me by the sea, if you're up for it

  
  


"Renjun?" The sea was violently roaring against his ears and he was about to call the older for a second time thinking that he might have not heard him. 

"Jisung! You came!" Renjun was beaming. 

"I did." He laughs at the enthusiasm he was getting from him. 

"Do you like drawing?" 

"I'm terrible at it."

"Doesn't matter but do you like it?" 

"I do like doodling in the back of my notebook─, 

" Fantastic! Let's go to the town square."

" Where's that?" Jisung asks. 

" Downtown, let's go and catch the bus!" 

They sat side by side in the bus as Jisung glanced outside the window, it's another part of their town that is getting introduced to him. 

He hears a faint music near his ear and turns around to see Renjun offer one of his earbuds to him. 

" Music?" He accepts it and lets Renjun's song choice serve as a background to the sights he was seeing. 

After a few song recommendations and sharing of playlists that occured between them in the bus, they arrived at the heart of the little city. 

  
  


He takes notices of how similar yet different this new environment was to the city that he grew accustomed to. "It's busy here." 

"You're right. Say Jisung do you want to draw with me?" There's a certain mischievousness that was hanging off of Renjun's smile. 

"I'm shit at it." He shakes his head. 

"I don't mean like a professional drawing, we can just sketch! Today I'll teach you about art and the downtown." 

"Okay, keep talking, I'm interested." 

They take a seat at one of the benches placed in the middle of the square and Renjun hands him a pencil and a sketchbook who then takes his own materials that looked more worn out than what was in Jisung's hands. 

"What are we drawing?" 

"Anything that you'd like, can be the kids running around, the people gossiping out and about, or the moving mascots by the stores, maybe even the ant that is risking its life walking in this busybody street." Renjun gives him a shrug.

"Were just going to sketch anything. There's actually a fancier term for it that I remember was taught to us in my first year, Croquis? Yeah, it was Croquis which just meant sketch but in French and fancier." Renjun lets out an airy laugh. 

  
  
  


"Jisung, oh my god." The way Renjun was trying to hold his laughter was bullying his ego. 

"I told you, I was bad at it." He mumbles into his hands as he hides his face from Renjun, his pride slowly shattering the more Renjun looks at his art, if you can even call it that. 

"But, it's cute."

"You're just trying to make me feel better."

"Well, is it working?" 

Jisung groans once more when Renjun laughter fills his ears. 

"I like it though, can I keep it?" 

"Do you WANT to keep it?" 

"Of course, I do." Lifting his gaze from the ground to meet the eyes that were already fixated to him, he sees sincerity even with the mischievous that overpowers it so he nods at him. "You can keep it."

"I'll treasure it as Jisung's first masterpiece." 

"Oh my god, please stop."

  
  
  


"Jisung, are you having fun?" He bites from the hotteok Renjun bought for him before letting out a little, "Hm?" as he chewed on his food. 

"I am." Noticing the way Renjun gazed afar Jisung took it as a cue to let more of his thoughts known. 

"This is the most I've seen this place and that's a lot for someone who lived his life here." Renjun hops on the ledge that separates the bay from the cemented ground. 

"Be careful!" He feels worry wash over him when he sees the way his companion stumbled but thankfully Jisung was fast enough to hold his hand which allowed him to regain his balance. 

"Oh god, I'm sorry I interrupted you." Shaking his head he continues walking, hand still holding Renjun's, the thought of letting it go doesn't even pass his mind. 

The hand he was holding doesn't let go either and he thinks deeper about his thoughts. They continued walking like that, with Renjun walking by the ledge and Jisung holding his hand so he wouldn't fall. 

"I feel like I'm rediscovering this place once more, wait no, I really am rediscovering it. It's nice, I never really intended to explore around the place I grew up in thinking that calling it my home was enough but I realized it wasn't because you showed me it meant more than that."

He stops on his track and Renjun does so. He turns around and stares at Renjun for quite some time, thoughts running in his head with his heart beating loudly in his chest, he feels like it's just right to tell him this. 

" You showed me my home, Renjun. It's starting to feel more like one." 

The night that time was silent but Jisung's heart was loud ringing in his ears, if they both tried hard enough they would be able to pick up the way their heartbeat beats in the same rhythm. 

The moon shone brighter when Renjun smiled at him. Jisung feels himself weaken at the beauty of it. 

  
  


"Jisung, come here for a second!" Hearing a few shuffling and banging next door, he stands up from his bed and heeds to his mother calling him. 

"Why?" He peeks from the door and sees that his mom has boxes scattered around the floor as she sits on the floor looking through one. 

Jisung doesn't receive an answer from his mother so he waits by the door, leaning against the door frame. 

"Aha! Here." She hands over to Jisung what seems to be a polaroid camera and a film camera, before she motions for him to come closer to look at the contents of the box. 

"Cameras? And so many of them?" 

"Your dad had an obsession with cameras before tucking them away and I remembered about it so I looked for it to give to you."

"But why?" Examining the polaroid in his hand before he took a test shot of his mom who hit him in the leg saying that she looked like a mess and was unprepared.

"It still works." The polaroid in his hand quickly develops colors as he hands it to his mom who takes a look at the photo.

"You look pretty as always." He smirks at his mom who was clearly annoyed by Jisung who then shoves the box to his chest and tells him to look through the cameras in his room. 

  
  
  


"I got cameras." Jaemin puts down the cup he was holding and walks towards the counter.

"So many of them?" Chenle asks as he stands behind Jisung peeking over his shoulder. 

"Dad apparently had a camera collection phase and now my mom is telling me to use them for memories." He places the camera in his hand down the counter, Jaemin picks it up and examines it. 

"Hey, where's Renjun?" Jisung asks when he doesn't spot the older anywhere in the cafe, not by the counter where they are nor by the back side in their usual table. 

"Why, do you miss him?" He feels someone hook their arm around his neck and he already knows who it is before Chenle even says, "Hi, Jeno hyung." 

"I told you to take me around town but you didn't even visit me, I'm kinda hurt." Jeno releases Jisung before ruffling his hair and ordering a hot chocolate to which Jaemin just nods to before turning around to make it. 

  
  
  


Jisung offers to take Jeno to the sea to which the other agrees upon. Along the way, Jeno tells Jisung that Donghyuck actually took him around town and introduced him to a lot of places so Jisung shouldn't feel guilty about not hanging out with him since Jisung had his own friends. 

"Your hometown is very interesting, so small yet there's so many things about it. They even have pretty boys here." Jisung scowls and pushes Jeno. 

"What's your hometown like then, Hyung?" The waves crashed gently in front of them as he looked at Jeno who was standing beside him, a fond look and smile settled on his face as he began speaking. 

"It's noisy, you can't really do anything about that since it's a city. But despite the noise, I find it familiar and welcoming." He remembers a memory of flashing car lights and the view that never sleeps at the mention of the city then memories of a laughter, the waves and the warm feeling in his chest despite the cold wind when he sees someone, 

"Do you like him?" It was Jeno's turn to ask a question but Jisung didn't know what to answer. 

All he knows is that he has one person in his mind and it was Renjun. 

  
  


He doesn't hear from him for a few days, and whether that bothers him or not he doesn't dwell on it around the presence of Jeno and Donghyuck who are now completing each other's actions as they make a bouquet for one of the flower shop's customers. 

Donghyuck is the pretty airbnb boy that Jeno wouldn't shut up about. He was loud and unapologetic in a way that Jisung admires him, Jeno was right when he compared him to the sun, he was warm and fun. 

But he can't give the same warmth Jisung has been craving these days so he opts to watch the two with his head resting on his crossed arms by the counter. 

There were subtle exchanges of smiles in between of their movements, touches that threads so softly on both their skins as if it was a fire that could both burn them once it settles fully and Jisung decides that he can't take it anymore. 

Yet he doesn't say something instead he watches them some more and it makes a part of his heart ache. The bouquet was done with Jeno passing Donghyuck the ribbon and Donghyuck tying it perfectly but the two won't snap out of their own world and Jisung just wants to tear his heart open, for wishing that he had the same of what was in front of him. 

It was unfamiliar and lonely, he kept missing something he couldn't name that it bugged him so much until he made out shoes whose owner was threading by the ledge, with the warmth on his hand spreading to his whole body from his fingertips to his toes in his memories then he realized something. 

It was Renjun again. 

"Stop looking like a sad puppy and just call him." Donghyuck was beside him now looking at him with a sympathetic look in his eyes as he placed the bouquet by the counter. 

"Jisung?" He looks back at Donghyuck again, "Hm?" and gets handed a pink rose. 

"I hope you figure it out." He sees Jeno giving him the same smile from when they were by the sea and he understands. 

  
  


It's nearly the evening and he has been staring at his phone for the whole day deciding on whether he should just call Renjun when it rings in his hands that startles him enough to make it fall into his face. 

He groans, lifting the phone from his face and nurses his nose bridge that got hurt and he thinks the pain was starting to make him see things when he sees the screen display "Renjun". 

It rings louder, so he picks it up. The voice brings him back to reality. 

_ "Are you up for a hangout today?" _ Oh, wow he missed his voice a lot. 

Glancing at the window he sees that the sun is nearly setting and wonders, what can they possibly do when the night is near, "Isn't it kinda late?"

He hears a chuckle, _ "Oh, don't worry you don't have to move much I just want to tell you to send me your location and I will come to you." _

"But, I'm home?" 

_ "Exactly, I'm ending the call, text me your address, okay!" _ And the other end was silent. 

**Jisung**

_ [address attached]  _

**Renjun**

open your door in like 10 mins. :P

  
  


He hears the doorbell when the sun was submerged in the water and his mother was muttering about who might the person be this late and Jisung runs from his room as fast as he could so he could open up the door. He passes by his mom who was stunned by him before he opens his door and there stands Renjun whose hair was now black and cuddled up by his clothes that perfectly tells how cold it was outside. 

He hears him laugh against his scarf but it was too muffled, he shoves the plastic he was holding and greets Jisung mom with a bow. He doesn't feel the cold air blowing past him until his mom tells him to let Renjun in and close the door. 

His mom entertains Renjun for the most part as he looks at the contents inside of the plastic and it was filled with convenience store foods, he also sees his pajama pants when he looks down realizing that he hasn't changed out of it since the afternoon. 

"You must be Jisung friend right?" His mom laughs along with Renjun who was taking his outerwear and scarf now, "Yes, I'm Renjun."

"Renjun, would you like to eat dinner with us?" 

That's how he finds himself seated next to Renjun munching on his rice while Renjun and his mom talked about this place which was mostly about his mom talking about how this place hasn't changed that much since she was a little girl. 

Soon with her stories, the dinner table lights up and Jisung naturally joins the conversation when his mother would drag a story or two about him that was embarrassing enough to be forgotten about him. 

  
  
  


"Your mom is so cute." Renjun states as he stares at the bunny shaped apples Jisung brought back to his room when he heard his mom yell his name. "Look, she got us bunny apples." He smiles as he holds up a bunny apple by his cheek and proceeds to eat it while Jisung laughs and dusts off his blanket before patting it which Renjun takes as a sign for him to sit on it. 

"Hey, let's watch a movie? What do you say?" Jisung just nods to it before he makes his way to sit next to Renjun. 

  
  


" Have you watched this?" Renjun asks him as he glanced at the movie poster in netflix. "Ocean Waves? No." 

"Heard studio ghibli films are a classic, do you want to try it?" 

"Sure." 

The night was cold, Jisung and Renjun shared the blue blanket he had since he was in highschool. Their legs were tangled up together beneath the comforting warmth and he thinks maybe he does want this to last longer.

“Why is the girl so damn annoying?” Renjun whispers to Jisung as his wandering mind focuses on the movie playing on his laptop, noting how every time he looks at the screen the girl is throwing unnecessary tantrums, even for a highschooler. 

They were inside the hotel room, arguing, he thinks? Yet all he can think about is the lingering scent of mint beneath his nose where Renjun’s head is resting against his chest, he can hear the windows rattling from how hard the wind was blowing and the voices of the characters speaking on the screen.

The movie finished, and the credits were rolling when Renjun asked if they should watch another movie to which he just nods to as he feels Renjun rises up from the tangled arrangement they have ended up in and selected a movie called, “When Marnie was There.”

“Why do we keep ending up watching the movies somehow related to water?” He hears Renjun laugh, “You’re right. Maybe that could be our thing.”

He decides that he likes that, and maybe something more.

  
  


Sleep always came easily to Jisung, especially after trying to stay awake for most of the year trying to finish workloads that were due. He found sleep to be the easiest thing to do after staying up for 2 days with only 30 minutes of power nap if he was lucky.

And in the presence of Renjun, with their limbs all tangled up with warmth resting on his skin wrapped with his favorite blanket, he found sleep as easy as breathing.

He hears a soft laughter when he stirs awake, the sun hits his eyes perfectly enough for his vision to black out for a while before he opens them up and sees a standing figure by his desk.

“Jisung, you never told me you were this cute when you were young.” The figure turns around and it was Renjun, with his black hair all tousled from the sleep and the shirt Jisung lent to him last night which he completely forgot that he did that was slowly slipping from Renjun’s collarbone, he was holding a photo of two year old Jisung that his mom took in the park while he was wearing what seems to be a baseball baby shirt.

This must be a dream….right?

There was a dip on the end of his bed and Jisung lifted his eyes again just to see the photo album that he knows just by a look since all his baby pictures were there. “Your mom gave it to me this morning when I got up to get some water.” Cooing noises, cool. “I kinda wish I met you when you looked like this so I could pinch your cheeks all day!” 

Renjun meets him in the eyes and he swears he saw the way the sunlight perfectly swiped on his brown eyes illuminating them for a second and it was sparks. Jisung is too sleepy for this but his heart is beating wildly against his ribcage and he can already see the hand reaching for his cheeks before he feels it pinch.

“I guess your cheeks are still as squishy as they looked when you were young.” He groans, “Ai, Renjun stop it.”

  
  


“Are you staying for breakfast? Mom wanted to know which side dish is your favorite so she can cook it.” He peeks from his bedroom door to look at Renjun who was now dressed back into his clothes with Jisung’s t-shirt laying neatly folded on his bed. 

“I would love to, can your mom make bulgogi?” He nods and immediately makes it known to his mom as he yelled it loudly enough for his mom to tell him to lower his voice.

“Do you want to see our garden?” Jisung offers and Renjun gladly accepts.

  
  


“The asters are my mom’s favorite.” They crouched down in front of the tiny purple flowers which Renjun was brushing his fingertips against. “They’re very pretty.” He hums, agreeing to the statement as he glances once more on the flowers his mom fondly raised.

Should he ask it now? The lingering question in his mind? Before he could even think about it, his mouth seemed to have decided on its own.

“Where have you been the past few days?” The hand that was brushing swiftly against the flowers halts until it continues much slower this time. “Just on my own, I guess.” That didn’t answer any of his questions but he lets it be.

“You know, you could have given me at least a few hours warning that you were coming last night, I could have prepared something.” Renjun hums.

“I like it to do things spontaneously, plus your house is part of the itinerary anyway.”

“Hello? I’m the homeowner and I didn’t even know my house was a tourist spot now.” Renjun laughed once more and maybe the sun was shining a bit brighter.

“Dummy, of course to make your hometown feel like home, your home is part of it to make it come full circle. You know? Making your home feel like one.” Jisung thinks for a while, he knows his home, of course he does. Different house or not, it was always the same him with his parents in the dining table talking minimally about their day whilst passing around the main dish his mom cooked for dinner, maybe if his father cared more than he usually does he would ask Jisung about school or nitpick a food habit he develop with his mom just eyeing him an apology. It was home, the garden his mom maintains, the thick smell of soil when it rains it would always be there even before they moved to the city and back to here.

Yet, looking from their garden to the living room where Jisung once spent all his childhood afternoons, he feels a small hint of unfamiliarity clinging to him despite knowing the home from it’s nooks and cranny. It doesn’t feel like the same home he has lived in since he was young, and Jisung feels grown.

“Boys! Breakfast is ready, come out of the garden already.” And that was enough to stop the running thoughts in Jisung’s head.

He walked Renjun home that afternoon after playing two sets in PUBG, after that a week passed by with no signs of him once more.

  
  


Until he comes by Jaemin’s cafe and they hand him what seems to be Renjun’s sketchpadand ask him a favor to give it back to Renjun by today since the couple was busy with too many orders for the day to do it.

“Sungie, I’m really sorry I told Jun that I would give it back to him but the afternoon got too busy.” Jaemin was practically giving him the puppy eyes, he would feel bad to say no. So he takes the sketchpad and says that he will do it which earns him a hug from Jaemin and a promise of free cake and sandwich when he stops by next time.

The road to Renjun’s apartment wasn’t that far yet he feels as if time has stretched by as he took the way he walked by last week with Renjun. He would be lying, if he said his mood wasn’t dampened with the flakiness he has been receiving from the other. 

One moment, they’re enjoying everything the world has to offer while sometimes Jisung feels that Renjun just leaves him in the dark after the show is over. It’s quite frustrating especially with his current blooming feelings that seemingly bothered him more now that Renjun isn’t with him. 

The sea still has Renjun, the flower in their garden has his touch, the cafe has his taste, heck, even the blanket in his bed has his warmth.

He was falling deeper with someone who can just leave him and go. The thought stings like the bitter hot coffee he accidentally drank during their retreats and he hates it. He hates that Renjun would leave him with an aftertaste of bitterness that burned his heart.

Above him, the street light was blinking and the sketchbook in grasp made its weight known.

_ No, he shouldn’t look through it. This is Renjun’s privacy no matter what the sketches might be. _ He looks at it a little better now and he recognizes that this was the same sketchpad Renjun was carrying around when they went to the botanic garden.

The angel in his head seems to be winning when he starts walking again leaving the flickering street light, but the demon in his head whispers that he might see through Renjun with his drawings.

He knows the value of art to an artist, he once knew one when he was in high school and a sophomore who’s skipping his class. He met him by the art room, he seemed to be painting something and Jisung thought it would be nice to join him so he enters the classroom and as soon as the door made a creak the student flipped the yellow paint on his artwork, all he could do was grimaces at the dripping paint of the canvas.

That was Mark, the graduating senior in his school and the only friend he had in high school. Mark taught him about arts, watched him glow with all the colors his paint could possibly mix and the pure joy in his eyes when he created something. 

It was precious really, Jisung wishes he could see where Mark is right now and whether he was still as bright as he was with arts when they were in highschool.

Artists feel happiest when they create, they shine the brightest with their craft. With the sketchpad in his hand he wonders whether he would ever see Renjun glow with his craft like how Mark did.

  
  
  


He knocks once then twice, maybe even debating on shooting Renjun a text that he was here when he hears the door click and Renjun is standing in front of him clad in a white hoodie with what seems to be paint stains.

“Jisung, what are you doing here?” For some reason, there was a bite in his question and he can see him grasping the door tightly as if he was ready to shut it in front of Jisung.

“Jaemin hyung asked me to hand you this.” He offers the sketchpad in his grasp whichRenjun immediately took and eyed Jisung. “If you think, I’ve looked through it then the answer is no.”

Renjun sighs, he steps to the side and looks at Jisung, “Come in.” And Jisung complies.

He sits on the sofa as he waits for the hot chocolate Renjun promised him and he used that time to look around the small apartment. 

He smells the familiar scent of paint like the ones in his art class during their painting lesson, and the painting scattered around Renjun’s apartment looks like they were just newly made. THe walls were painted plain white but the paintings that range from ocean to houses adds a pop of color to it.

If he looks hard enough, he can recognize these paintings. The ocean view was just like the one from the cafe, the houses where the same view you see driving more into the inside of the town, even the town square where the children play by the fountain was immortalized through the paints in the canvas.

And it’s so pretty, seeing the way Renjun views and interprets the world that he sees. A thud snaps him back to look at the hot choco in front of him and at Renjun who sits beside him.

“Thank you.” He sips a bit of it before it registered in his head just how hot a newly made hot choco would be and burned his tongue, “Are you okay?” There was concern pooling at Renjun’s eyes and he can feel his heart beating loudly once more so he coughs out and says that he is ok and he just burned his tongue a bit.

“You should be careful next time, the drink is really hot.” And the silence is suffocating once more. It’s killing him, silence was never something that settled between the two frequently ever since they met, JIsung had a lot on his mind which leads to him voicing them out and Renjun had lots of story to tell and questions to leave so yes, the silence is extremely painful to endure especially with words of confession wanting to slip past his burned tongue.

“I’m sorry.” Renjun starts off.

Sorry for what?

“I know you’re confused, but I just feel like I owe you an apology.” Confusion was written all over Jisung’s face as he looked at Renjun straight in the eyes.

“You can start with why you’re feeling sorry for starters.” 

“I,” This was the second time he has let out a sigh since Jisung came but he waits for him patiently, “do you think you could stay over? It might be a long night.” 

Jisung is ready to give him all the time in the world only if he asks so of course he agrees to stay over.

  
  
  


Renjun starts by telling Jisung that he has lost his love for art when he started really studying for it in college. He was new to Korea by then, a foreigner who had earned a scholarship with one of Korea’s most promising art schools, 19 and naive with a dream he never knew just how hard it would really be since everything seemed so bright to him.

At least for a while, his dream shined. 

He grew up in a really nurturing family who supported his dream ever since he realized it when he was in middle school, his parents gave him full support with everything he needed and all they expected from Renjun was to chase his dream. Which also eventually led to being the root cause of how he spiraled down. 

The classes were really hard, especially for a foreigner whose Korean is just enough for him to ask for directions when he got lost, he barely could keep up with everything. This was the first time he was formally taught what art is and the art he thought that was free and vast shattered in front of his eyes in just merely months of learning it.

He started drowning by then, it was plate after plate that he didn’t find any interest in, artworks that barely contained a piece of his heart, and of course it would reflect in his works. He still remembers the difference of reaction he got from two of the professors who pulled him over after class.

One looked at him with pity while the other was with pure venom, both stinged his heart just as hard as it would.

“Your art has no soul, no feelings, no nothing! What have you been learning all this time then?”

“Renjun, I’ve seen your artwork that you submitted when you applied for a scholarship and they were amazing, full of life and story. But, my dear what happened to you? This isn’t your art.”

He gets it really, he feels like he lost himself too. So instead of explaining anything about what he was going through, he just takes his art and bows down politely at the two professors walking out of the school into his dorm where he stares blankly at the two empty paintings that seem to stare back at him.

He dropped out the next day, walking out of the campus as he packed his belongings from his dorm with only the train station in his mind to get to a destination he wanted to go to.

“My parents still don't know I dropped out, I’m scared of making them feel disappointed.” The hot choco on the table has grown cold and Jisung can hear Renjun’s voice trembling so he hugs him.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t reach out to you for two weeks, I was wallowing in my own feelings..both the old and the present.” Jisung hugs him tighter.

“It’s fine.” He says, “No, it isn’t. I left you hanging then made you wait, I’m so sorry.” 

“I told you, it’s fine. It really is, don’t feel too sorry if it makes you feel better. I've forgiven you when you offered the hot choco.” At least he hears him laugh and sees him smile when Renjun pulls away.

They stayed quiet for quite some time, only the sound of their breathing filled the air.

  
  


‘Hey,” 

“Hm?”

“Did you seriously not peek at my sketchpad?” Renjun reaches for the sketchpad he disregarded on the coffee table and fills through it facing against Jisung so he couldn’t see anything.

“I seriously didn’t.” 

“”Well, have a look now.” The sketchpad is tossed towards him and he barely catches it before it hits his face.

“Nice catch.” 

“You nearly injured my eye.”

“Well, you’re still fine now look through it.”

  
  


Jisung scowls before opening the sketchpad, it had several sketches of the sea, sometimes the sky, of the cafe too. 

Then occasionally it was scribbles or scrapped up pencil drawings until it was that sketch Renjun made when they were by the botanic garden where Jisung was scrunching his nose as he looked at the flowers.

He smiles at the memory, shortly glancing at Renjun who was fidgeting with his cup as Jisung flipped the page.

It was Jisung again, with a sketch pad in his hand trying hard to draw the moment of the kids playing by the fountain with his eyebrows scrunched up all together.

It was them by the ledge, where he was holding Renjun’s hand so he wouldn’t fall off.

Jisung and Chenle playing by the sea, Renjun saw that? He gasped when he saw the next one, whether it was from embarrassment or the overflowing adoration spilling from his heart, he didn't know.

He was sleeping in the drawing, hair messy with his cheeks squished against the pillows. Renjun saw him like that and decided that he wanted to draw him, he’s very _ very _ endeared.

The next was Jisung by the street light except this Jisung wasn’t facing the viewer anymore, he was walking away.

That was the final sketch in the sketchpad and as loud as his heart is beating against his ears, he thinks he can clearly hear the messages these drawings were meant to give him.

_ ‘I like you.’ _

“You like me.” He says out loud, startling Renjun who then starts coughing while Jisung pats his back and waits for him to calm down and speak.

“If that’s your takeaway, then..maybe you’re right.” He whispers the last part yet Jisung catches it, he sports a smirk before telling Renjun to repeat it.

“What was that?”

“I like you, happy now?”

“I like you too, just so you know.” Renjun lightly gasps from the confession and Jisung just smiles as he leans back on the sofa.

“I was so scared for weeks and you’re telling me now that you actually like me back?” Disbelief lace Renjun’s voice as Jisung laughed.

“Just kiss me to compensate for it, I take kisses as currency.” And that was enough for Renjun to dive into Jisung’s arms and plant a kiss straight into the younger’s lips.

  
  


Renjun’s lips tasted a lot like the grapefruit ade drink he said he liked drinking in the summer. It was sickeningly sweet that Jisung wanted more and more.

  
  


Jisung really loved the comfort and warmth his blue blanket gave him, but now being cuddled by Renjun he thinks that nothing could ever amount to the comfort that these arms gave him.

If it wasn’t for how small Renjun bed is for the two of them, with Jisung’s leg hanging off from the side he would even say that this feels like home.

  
  
  
  


“You know,” Jaemin starts off as he starts the coffee machine.

“No, I don’t.” Jisung answers as he shoves another piece of cake into his mouth watching Chenle bug Renjun.

“Rude. Anyway, Renjun only started drawing again when you came to town.” The piece of cake that he was about to shove into his mouth again halts midair as his attention is caught by what Jaemin said.

“He refused to do art for a whole year, I’m glad he’s back again.” The coffee machine brews a little loudly as he glances upon Renjun who seemed to be glowing with the same passion he once saw on someone.

“I’m glad too.” He really is, so he smiles.

  
  


The rest of his vacation were spent with Renjun...occasionally with the other two couples. The cameras his mom handed to him were slowly filled with pictures of him or of his friends or just random things they thought would be fun to capture. 

He bought frames, and even his bedroom window had some pictures of them. For the first time, he thinks that he’s leaving a piece of him here at the house that was so devoid of him since he grew.

His mom appreciates the pictures, she says she loves them and Jisung wouldn’t say it but he does too.

  
  


He’s tapping his foot against the tiled floor of the camera shop where they’re getting their films done. He feels a hand slide against his and grasps it tightly as Renjun squeezed his hand for a second as well and goes back to look at the different cameras in the stores.

After a few more weeks, Jeno bids them goodbye and they all sit at the cafe that day watching Hyuck ingest three servings of the hidden menu (sugar overload, as the rest of them would say to which Jaemin would just whine to.) one after another. (Jisung feels sick just from thinking about it.)

If Jeno had to go back then that inevitably means that Jisung has to as well, soon enough. His mom was nagging him to start packing his bag a week before his train ride but Jisung was a stubborn kid who mostly had his mom nag him for his whole living years and a helpful boyfriend who instantly became his mom’s favorite so he started packing the night before the train ride.

“Jisung, stop hugging me I can’t fold your clothes.” Renjun was trying to shake him off but it had no strength to actually make Jisung waver.

“But, I’m going tomorrow and that means I’m not seeing you for a while.” He buries his head on his boyfriend’s nape who immediately jolts up after feeling ticklish from Jisung’s breath. He turns around and engulfs Jisung in a hug as well.

“I will miss you a lot, Sung.” He receives a peck on his cheek.

“I think I'll be going back to China for a few months to talk to my parents and well rediscover my own home?” His boyfriend snuggles closely into his chest before humming and letting go.

Jisung pulls him back which makes him yelp, “I’m so proud of you, do you know that? It will turn out well, I know it will.”

“I hope so too.”

  
  


The next morning, the remaining of his friends who live in the town bid him goodbye and for the last time he catches Renjun in a kiss before taking the train ride back to Seoul , back to being Park Jisung, the engineering major.

  
  
  
  


Soon, school started and Renjun was back in China. And when Jisung misses home, he just looks at the photos the seven of them took by the sea to remind him that he will be back on his break.

  
  


And just like before him and Jeno would eat lunch and dinner together, except now sometimes they facetime Jaemin and Chenle or Hyuck when he misses his boyfriend lots.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The year flies by in a blink and soon Jisung is going to be in his third year of college when he receives one of his daily calls from his boyfriend.

_“Babe, how many cats should we adopt?”_ He picks out a dark blue hoodie and slides in over his head before taking his phone again to answer Renjun.

“I told you, two would be fine but why are you asking about this again?”

_ “You can pick one now, then I’ll pick one when I arrive there. Oh! What if we get them together so they don’t feel lonely?” _

“Wait, what? Can you go back a little bit?”

_ “Me getting to pick one cat?” _

“No,”   
  


_ “Me arriving there?” _

“What?”   
  


_“Oh, I got accepted into your college’s art department and I’m living with you and you can’t say no.”_

“Oh, babe, that’s a lot, congratulations , thank you for the heads up.” Sarcasm was dripping from his voice but he laughed at how Renjun this kind of stunt is.

“When are you arriving so I can set up an appointment at the cat shelter?”

He hears Renjun squeal, _“You’re the best, have I told you that? I love you so much.”_

“I love you too.”

He hears Renjun making kissing sounds and he smiles at it.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> PHEW... today i offer you unbetaed rensung fic, tomorrow who knows ? /passes out/
> 
> ngl but this got too long real quick,, somehow before i knew it along the lines of procrastinating on my school works and thinking about the pretty sea i saw last year summer ive created 15k slowbrun rensung taking a trip round town
> 
> if you saw mistakes pls,, close ur eyes or you can point it out to me cause i have no strength to beta a 15k fic and neither do i have a beta to help me TAT (is someone,,willing out there pls reach out to me at my twt [yeah i got one B) [@orenjiuice](https://twitter.com/orenjiuice)] i dont bite i swear,,)


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